Patient Navigation

At Sarah Cannon Lee's Summit Medical Center our patient navigators are oncology-trained nurses who work directly with patients to help guide them through their cancer journey. The navigator serves as a constant point of contact for the cancer patient to coordinate care, answer questions, and provide resources. Patient navigators often specialize in a certain type of cancer, such as breast cancer, lung cancer or colon cancer, to help survivors with their specific needs.

The Patient Navigator will provide assistance with:

Navigating patients through their cancer journey from discovery through recovery

Our patient navigation system addresses the continuum of cancer care. The system is designed to support patient navigators in all phases of the treatment spectrum, addressing prevention, screening and early detection, diagnosis, treatment, palliative and supportive care. By tracking progress, providing check lists, facilitating communication and producing reminders, the system is a vital tool in the expansion of our capabilities and patient outcome success. This technology and our highly trained staff work together as a very sophisticated “buddy system” – partnered with patients, making sure that we exceed their expectations.

Studies have demonstrated the clinical benefits of patient navigation including:

Increased screening rates

Improved stage at diagnosis

Reduced broken appointment rates and more timely follow up

Improved patient satisfaction

The Sarah Cannon Patient Navigators are dedicated to improving communication and coordinating care with the entire healthcare team, including: